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Stanford University cuts $1.3 billion in construction

Construction is being halted on $1.3 billion worth of construction at the California university

Because of a decline in the school's endowment due to worsening economic situations, Stanford University announced it is suspending construction projects totaling $1.3 billion.

The school's endowment was worth $17.2 billion but economic conditions have caused it to drop 20 to 30 percent according to university provost John Etchemendy.

Projects that will be suspended include an undergraduate dining hall and a new facility for the biomechanical engineering program, according to the Mercury News. Some at the university say there is nowhere to put the influx of students.

"We've run out of room,'' Michele Horaney, a spokesperson for the school's Hoover Institution told the Mercury News. "An increasing number of people want to come here to study, and we need a place to put them.''

The school is still expected to start construction on a new arts building and facility for the law school and a $350 million project for the graduate school of business, which was already begun, will be completed.

A tough economy is causing the school to make cuts across the board with the Graduate School of Business announcing earlier this week that it would be firing 49 employees - 12 percent of its non-faculty workforce - according to Bloomberg News.